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Alaska Railroad Photograph Collection, 1916-1922

 Collection
Identifier: PCA 108

Alaska Railroad Photograph Collection, 1916-1922. ASL-PCA-108

Scope and Contents

Most of the photographs were taken by Alaskan Engineering Commission (AEC) photographers, professional photographers hired to record railroad construction. In addition to construction, people, camps, buildings, and communities along the railroad are shown. The collection includes a series of agricultural photographs, from the Matanuska Valley and Fairbanks, among others. Images of government officials are also identified. Photographers represented in the collection include P.S. Hunt, H.G. Kaiser, Albert J. Johnson and several views by the Sydney Laurence Co. Most images have AEC numbers.

Dates

  • 1916-1922

EAD

PCA0108

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is unrestricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be discussed with the Librarian. Photocopying does not constitute permission to publish.

Historical Note

The Alaska Railroad began as the Alaska Engineering Commission (AEC), which was created by President Woodrow Wilson in the Alaska Railroad Act (38 Stat. 305), March 12, 1914, to supervise construction of Alaska’s railways. When railroad construction was completed and the railroad began operating in 1923, the AEC became the Alaska Railroad Commission, later redesignated The Alaska Railroad.

Extent

2 boxes : 356 Photographic Prints

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Existence and Location of Originals

The original photographs were given to the Anchorage Museum of History and Art.

Existence and Location of Copies

Some photographs in this collection have been digitized and are available to view via Alaska's Digital Archives.

Related Materials

Other Alaska Railroad collections include PCA 246 (microfiche), PCA 198 (lantern slides) and the Alaskan Engineering Commission collection, PCA 131.

Processing Information

Copy prints were made from the borrowed prints and sleeved in Mylar. An item-level inventory is available.

Digital Material

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Finding Aid for the Alaska Railroad Photograph Collection, 1916-1922
Status
In Progress
Author
Processed by: Staff ; Revised by: Staff, 9/12/2004 ; ArchivesSpace Finding Aid by: Ginny Jacobs, 5/17/2019
Date
2019 May
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

External Documents

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Alaska State Library - Historical Collections Finding Aids Repository

https://library.alaska.gov/hist/
Contact:
PO Box 110571
Juneau AK 99811-0571 US
907-465-2920
907-465-2925
907-465-2151 (Fax)